


Sticking to Theme

by Castor_Raiden, reallygrossstuff



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Clones, Transformation, Weight Gain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:49:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26060695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Castor_Raiden/pseuds/Castor_Raiden, https://archiveofourown.org/users/reallygrossstuff/pseuds/reallygrossstuff
Summary: Sollux gets sick of Dave's self-sure attitude and decides to see how he deals with a few miles in Sollux's shoes... well, maybe a few sizes up.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	Sticking to Theme

**Author's Note:**

> Another collab while you wait for the next chapter of our other collab! reallygrossstuff here taking responsibility for that long wait, my classes started back up and it's been hard to find time to work on it together. Still, hopefully you all enjoy this in the meantime!

Maybe Sollux and Dave weren’t close, but it wasn’t a shock to the human when he was invited to spend some time at the goldblood’s hive. Spending time with different people was mandatory if you didn’t want to get bored to death, and the two had a good enough rapport in Dave’s opinion that an afternoon spent with Sollux didn’t sound like a bad idea.

Dave knocked on the door of Sollux’s apartment and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Yo Sol, you there?”

“Coming, hold your hoofbeasts!” Sollux’s voice came from far into the hive, taking a few minutes to presumably finish whatever he was doing before opening the door for Dave. “You arrive late and still knock on my door like you’re in a rush.”

“Sorry for knocking, I guess?” Dave shrugged dismissively, entering Sollux’s hive without waiting for a proper invitation. “I just figured you’d want to know when the guy you invited to visit actually showed up, you know.”

Sollux stood aside for Dave. “And I appreciate that, I really do,” he commented. “C’mon in then. Excuse the mess.”

“You know I’m used to it, man.” Another nonchalant shrug as Dave avoided the few bits of detritus that always seemed to gather in odd places around the hive. “I get it, you’re too busy doing your cool hacker stuff or whatever keeps you up all the time.”

A few of Sollux’s bees landed on Dave occasionally as he spoke, curiously exploring this new person, before buzzing off. Dave couldn’t help but smile. “So what’d you wanna show me, man?” Dave asked.

“Just the outcome of all that work Vantas has refused to talk about for the last eternity.” Sollux grinned eagerly, voice lowering as if sharing a secret. “All that grumbling finally paid off and apparently I get to do the honors of testing the thing.”

Dave had known Karkat had some project going that he’d remained tight-lipped about, despite the fact he was constantly grumbling about its complexity. “Really? Well then, let’s see the fruits of his labors!” He leaned forward as Sollux revealed a pair of small test tubes - one filled with a red fluid, the other golden yellow. Alongside them was an empty syringe.

“I’ll just load this needle up for you, then.” Sollux’s tone was totally casual as he pierced the yellow tube’s seal with the syringe, beginning to suck up the fluid.

“Woah, hang on, you’re gonna have to tell me some more about this before you go sticking me with anything.” Dave raised his hands defensively, ready to bolt if Sollux moved too fast.

“What makes you think I even know what this’ll do?” It was probably only Dave’s paranoia that made Sollux’s question seem disingenuous - why _would_ Sollux know anything about Karkat’s project? “All KK’s told me is it’s safe for humans and I don’t need to aim for a vein.”

Dave looked apprehensive. “If you say so-I mean, it’s been tested and stuff, right?”

“That’s what he said.”

“Alright then…” Dave rolled up his sleeve and presented his shoulder. “Jab away.”

Sollux didn’t need to be told twice. Pinching Dave’s arm, he gathered up enough skin to pierce the needle through and pressed his thumb on the plunger, injecting Dave with a discomforting but painless feeling.

Dave’s mouth tightened at the sensation, doing his best to not look at the needle.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a tiny little prick?” Sollux teased as he slid it out of Dave’s arm.

“Nah, most people tend to not like having needles in them, but I’m chill as fuck over here!” Dave argued, in contrast with how he shook his arm out after the needle was gone.

“Keep telling yourself that.” Sollux rolled his eyes, putting the empty tube and syringe back in their case.

“You bet I will, long as it keeps being the stone cold truth.”

Sollux rolled his eyes and put the case away.

“So… now what?” Dave asked as he rubbed at his shoulder.

“We… wait for something to happen. Like I said, the only thing I know is that it won’t kill you. In the meantime though… troll Smash Bros?”

“Always!”

With the lack of immediate effect it was easy to forget about the injection, the two having a pretty normal time hanging out and playing video games for the remainder of Dave’s visit. And if Dave caught Sollux staring at him a few times out of the corner of his eye, he could chalk it up to the troll checking on him just in case.

“See something you like?” Dave commented. “Sorry to inform you dude, but I’m taken!”

“You’re not my type,” Sollux replied smoothly.

Dave scoffed. “I’m everyone’s type, you’re just in denial.” He rubbed at his eyes beneath his shades, distracted by an itch long enough for Sollux to sweep the current round. “And cheating, what the fuck!”

“It’s called taking an advantage, Strider, it’s this thing winners do.”

The rest of the day proceeded the same way, the only change being the steady progression of different games Sollux brought out until it was time for Dave to head back to his own home.

“Imma head out, getting late,” Dave said as he stood up. “Had fun today!”

“Me too. Lemme know if anything happens, okay?”

“You got it!”

It turned out that the first thing to happen had slipped completely under Dave’s radar. He made his way home, headed to the bathroom, and was halfway undressed before a glance to the mirror stopped him in his tracks. Walking closer and leaning in until his nose almost touched the reflective surface, he confirmed what he’d initially suspected - sometime in the day, hidden from view behind his shades, his eyes had gone the same distinctive blue and red as Sollux’s.

“... what the fuck?” Dave muttered, pulling at one of his eyelids. “Oh god, what the FUCK did he put in me?!” He scrambled for his phone before pausing while it was in his hand. “Whoa there Dave… chill. Freaking out ain’t gonna help…” He took some calming breaths and got in the shower.

Some minutes later, now clean and dripping wet, Dave was composed enough to snap a selfie of his eyes and send it to Sollux.

TG: yo sol something happened.

TG: [eyes.png]

TG: what the fuck was in that stuff?

TA: nothiing that wa2nt te2ted, 2o 2top freakiing out.

TG: sorry im a bit put out by my EYES CHANGING

TA: ii bet iit diidnt even hurt or youd have notiiced earliier

TA: can you 2tiil 2ee fiine?

TG...yeah everything still looks the same

TA: then relax.

TA: 2end piic2 of any new change2 and remember that iit2 2afe

TG: if you say so

Dave ended the chat and got dressed. Slipping his shades back on, he looked in the mirror again. If he didn’t know better, everything was fine, judging from the reflection. Dave smiled and finger-gunned at the mirror before clicking the light off and heading to bed.

After that it quickly became a routine for Dave to check for any changes after waking up and before bed, reporting them to Sollux for all the good it did him. The next day brought no new changes, except for an itchy scalp that Dave rationalised as lice picked up from somewhere.

Running his fingers through his hair made a few pale strands of hair fall out, but that happened all the time, he reasoned. By the next day he was too distracted by other changes, anyway.

The second day after his injection, Dave began to notice patches of his skin darkening, as if bruised or oddly tanned. The patches were small but there were a lot of them, and some trick of his mind had Dave wondering if they were slowly spreading further…

A few days later Dave stood in his bedroom, shirt and shades off, looking at his reflection in his closet mirror. He had started growing used to seeing his new eyes, and the patches of discoloration all over his body, but his hair was starting to look almost salt-and-pepper, with a few locks of black scattered about his head. “I can just… wear a hat and a jacket, I guess,” Dave muttered to himself. He was planning to meet his friends at the mall today, and didn’t want Rose in particular finding out about his new appearance.

More mundane but harder to hide was the fact that as this all was happening, Dave was also steadily gaining weight. He didn’t feel as if he was being any less active, and while his appetite had increased somewhat, it didn’t seem like enough to explain the few extra pounds he’d wake up with every morning.

At the mall, his friends were confused by how much Dave was eating lately, but appeared to be supportive of this new habit. John was teasing, as expected, and Rose didn’t seem to suspect a thing, though it was hard to tell with her. As for Jade, she was more than willing to get Dave another tray of munchies when he finished the first.

Later that night, Dave stood on the bathroom scale to read its verdict. He suddenly noticed just how much of a swell his belly had developed, covering up the faint lines of muscle. He wondered for a brief moment how he hadn’t noticed until now, before determining that he definitely would have noticed, unless the new weight was sudden - coming in alongside his other various changes.

Eventually, the scale let out a beep - 200 pounds, 20 up from his usual 180. Dave blinked. “I can work it off,” he reasoned. “Yeah, this is nothin’!” Dave smiled and patted his new gut. Maybe he couldn’t fix his eyes or skin, but losing weight was more than in his control.

Or at least, he thought it was. As the days progressed, more of his hair growing in black and the patches of greying skin spreading until some of them had merged, Dave found himself more and more often lacking the motivation or energy to slim himself back down. When he had the strength to get up and go outside, he always found himself with something more interesting to do instead. And whenever he truly wanted to work off a few pounds, it seemed he barely had the energy to take himself from the bedroom to the kitchen and back. It was as if his body felt none of his motivation to lose weight.

Even his teeth had started feeling sharper when he ran his tongue across them. Often, Dave had found himself idly biting his lip as he gamed. Speaking of, he had to assume there was an upside to… whatever was going on; his formerly average skills were improving bit by bit. Though it came with another downside as well - a very faint lisp which vanished when Dave focused, air slipping through the gaps in his more pointed teeth. His uncle Brodrick looked concerned and wanted to take Dave to a hospital, but Dave asserted he was fine, fit as a fiddle, and the older man relented.

When Dave figured out what was actually happening, the first thing he felt was a flush of shame it had taken him so long to decipher. Though his hair was almost entirely black, his scalp had continued to itch, almost painfully so in places, until one morning he woke up and it simply... didn’t. Any relief this gave him was quickly tempered with the question of what had changed, so he hefted himself out of bed as he’d grown used to and headed to the bathroom.

What he saw in the mirror was a shock, though it really shouldn’t have been - poking up out of his hair were four tiny yellow points, arranged in two pairs of two in an instantly familiar setup.

Dave quickly dashed back to his room, grabbing his phone and dialing a number. “C’mon, c’mon, pick up!” he muttered as it rang.

“Captor residence, Sollux speaking. What’s up, Dave?”

“Oh nothing, just wanted to call, say hi, and… oh yeah, I HAVE FUCKING HORNS CAPTOR.”

“Wow, that took a while.” Despite Dave’s clear rage, Sollux’s tone remained neutral.

“You expected that to happen?!”

“No, I had no idea what I was doing and injected you with mystery drugs. _Yes_ , I expected this.”

“Was Karkat in on this too?” Dave snapped.

“That bit I didn’t lie about,” Sollux replied. “He DID make it. We both know he’s really good at playing with DNA, you can thank him for not ending up with two heads or something.”

“Gonna have words with my main squeeze then…” Dave commented darkly.

“You realise he didn’t do this just to mess with you, right? It was just a project, I’m the one using it to mess with your shit.”

“Then I’m gonna have words with _you_ , Captor, and if those words aren’t good I’m gonna give you a real squeeze.”

Dave’s threat was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Dave?” The familiar voice of John rang through the house.

“Fuck,” Dave cursed. “Sollux, fuck you, and I’ll talk to you later.”

“Wait Dave I-” Dave hung up before Sollux could finish and threw on a shirt and some pants. There was another knock. “Just a sec John, jesus!” Dave yelled out as he approached the door and opened it. “John I’m not in a good mood right now.”

“Yeah, I can see…” John trailed off as his eyes travelled up and down. Dave suddenly realized that in his haste he’d forgotten his shades… as if they would do anything to hide the rest of his appearance, with almost entirely grey skin, large belly, black hair, slight buck teeth, and four small horns. “Oh! Sorry, I can come back when Dave’s... wait.” John’s eyes flitted up and down Dave again, widening behind his glasses. “Oh my god. Dave?!”

“Thit.” And of course the stress of being found out only made his lisp more pronounced. Trying to keep his cool, he tugged John inside and shut the door behind him. “I can explain, okay?”

John hesitantly sat on Dave’s bed, not taking his eyes off the rapidly panicking boy in pacing front of him. “Dave?”

“John, thut up and let me think for a thecond, okay?!” Dave snapped, and for an instant, he smelled ozone before it faded. Dave stopped, ran his hands down his face, and sat down. “Thorr-Sorry man, didn’t mean to flip.”

“It’s… okay, I guess Dave,” John answered. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

“Yeah… yeah that works…” Dave took a deep breath, trying to keep from lisping as he explained - the injection, noticing his eyes, the slow progression of changes in the days and weeks since. John nodded along, eyes wide as he took all of it in. Dave didn’t blame him, it’d sound completely ridiculous if the proof of his story wasn’t sitting right next to him. “So… yeah, that’s the long and short of it.”

“Holy shit dude.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, if Karkat started this, then he’s gotta have a way to fix it, right?”

“Oh he better, or I’m dumping him until he MAKES one. And... fuck, I don’t know how I’m gonna get at Sollux, but he’s not getting out of this either, asshole.”

John awkwardly patted Dave’s shoulder, trying to smile reassuringly. “Why don’t you go over and ask him? I mean, this whole thing sounds like a prank gone wrong, maybe he’ll have some sympathy?”

“Sollux? Sympathy?”

“Okay that’s just rude, Dave! Maybe try being a bit nicer when you’re actually face to face with him.”

“I… don’t think I can right now John…” Dave twisted at the hem of his shirt, taking note of how much of his soft body was on display. Really he should’ve gone shopping for new clothes at some point. “I feel like if I see him, I’m just gonna hurt him.”

“And that’s fair,” John agreed. “So how about you take a bit to calm down, and then go over and see him?”

“Well I can’t go out like this, look at me!” Dave gestured to himself. “I look like a freak! I don’t have anything that’ll cover all this!” He jiggled his gut to make his point.

“That’s not going to change, though, is it? I mean, you said you can’t really work that off, and you’ve just been gaining more every day. It doesn’t sound like things are going to get better if you just shut yourself in like a hermit!”

As much as Dave hated it, John was right. Staying at home would only delay the inevitable, and maybe leave him even bigger when he finally relented and went out for some reason or another.

As Dave mulled it over, John rummaged through Dave’s closet, eventually finding a red hoodie that had been much too large for him before all this started, but now looked to be a decent fit. “Try this on,” John called out, tossing it over. Without anything better to do, he did so, finding that while even that was too small for him now, it at least reduced the amount of soft stomach he was exposing to a grey sliver.

There was no such luck with Dave’s pants however, as every pair was meant for a much leaner person. He made do with a pair of baggy sweatpants. “God I feel like a hobo in these…” Dave muttered.

“Better a hobo than getting stared at though, right?” John pointed out. Dave nodded.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“You’re not going to wait and try to cool down?”

“I’m as cool as I’m gonna get like this, I’m heading out before I outgrow these too.”

“Fair enough, I guess...” John watched as Dave once more tried to adjust the clothes to hide him better, before giving up and heading for the door as he was.

The walk to Sollux’s place wasn’t a very long one, but already Dave was breathing heavily as they arrived at the building.

“You good?” John put a hand on Dave’s back as he leaned against a tree.

“Dude, I’m... nearly 300 pounds… now…” Dave panted. “Just… gimme a… minute.”

“Uh...” John’s voice trailed upwards, a clear sign he was going to say something awkward. “When did you last weigh yourself? Because that number seems... kinda low now.”

“That’s the last... thing I wanna... think about... right now, okay?” Dave slowly stood up straight again, though he still had to lean against the tree.

Dave soon caught his breath and made his way inside and to the elevator, not wanting to struggle up three flights of stairs. He could feel his body swaying from side to side with every step. Weight had been settling everywhere on him in the last few days, leaving nowhere free of an extra roll or two that insisted on wobbling with his every move. “I can only imagine what Rose would say if she saw me right now,” Dave commented idly as the elevator began to move.

John laughed a little. “I can’t even imagine that! Maybe you can get this all fixed fast enough she doesn’t even have to know.”

The elevator carried them up to Sollux’s floor, and thankfully it wasn’t far from there to his front door, with Dave taking the lead to knock loudly on the door.

“Door’s open Dave,” Sollux called out. The larger boy didn’t need any further prompting and slammed the door open, a glare on his face.

Sitting on the couch was both Sollux and Karkat, with the latter holding the box with Karkat’s project in his lap. John looked from Sollux to Dave then back again, as if re-evaluating this whole situation. “Wow, you take sticking to theme _way_ too seriously!”

“John, this is not the time,” Dave muttered, his eyes flicking momentarily to the nervous red-blood on the couch.

“H-hi Dave.” The shorter troll’s voice lacked its usual familiar bark.

“I’ll get to you in a moment, Vantas,” Dave said coldly, ignoring Karkat’s wince as he turned to Sollux. “You. Explain. Now.”

Sollux seemed a little conflicted, but not enough to be cowed by Dave’s glare. “KK was working on this before I found out about it. Something about medical applications or whatever. This was about when you gave me that embarrassing rant about how it wasn't fair to the rest of us having you in the world, or whatever self-important shit you said.”

“That’s my whole thing, Captor, I talk myself up.”

“It being your ‘thing’ doesn’t stop it getting annoying as hell. So I talked up KK until he agreed to give me the finished batch, with a few alterations so he could still tell us apart.” At this Sollux cast his eyes over Dave’s ill-fitting clothes. “Nice gains, by the way.”

Dave folded his arms. “And how big, exactly, were you planning on me getting?” he asked. Behind him, John moved over to sit next to Karkat, who glanced over but refused to meet John’s eyes.

“Not too big.” Sollux shrugged. “I figured nobody would get us mixed up if you got close to 500.”

“500 POUNDS ARE YOU SERIOUS.” Dave roared. “Dude, what the actual fuck? All this over me being a prick?!”

“Well, also cause I thought it’d be funny.”

“I’m gonna FLATTEN YOU,” Dave snarled as he stalked forward, fist raised.

“Dave, stop,” Karkat said softly. As if a switch was flipped, Dave obeyed and looked over at his matesprit. “I made this stuff, it’s my fucking fault.”

“You didn’t make it to mess with me, though.” Dave might have paused, but he was still clearly furious, that ozone scent rising again.

“I didn’t say no when Sollux told me he was going to use it that way.” Karkat at least had it in him to look apologetic about the whole thing. “And I put the additive in so you’d gain weight too.”

The smell faded as Dave took a deep breath. “Argh, my eyes…” he muttered, rubbing them.

“That’s probably the psionics,” Karkat explained. “You can’t use them if you want to change back.” As Karkat spoke, Sollux made to stand up and leave, only to be firmly forced back down by John’s hands.

“Oh.” Dave’s posture relaxed. “Budge over, I need to sit down.” Karkat moved aside as Dave plopped down between him and Sollux. In response, the couch creaked loudly from the additional weight.

“Look, Sollux…” Dave began, then took another deep breath. “I’m sorry, okay? I know I’m a prick, I’m cocky as fuck. By this point it’s a force of habit, and beyond that I don’t have an excuse.”

“I don’t mind you being cocky.” Sollux replied, crossing his arms. “You’re allowed to be proud of yourself or whatever. It’s just, sometimes it feels like you’re putting everyone else down to do it. Like you being hot shit means everyone else has to be worse.”

“I don’t... okay, maybe it could sound like that. I didn’t _mean_ that, though! It was just teasing, I thought it was fine since we’re friends. You could’ve just told me it wasn’t.”

“Yeah…” Sollux nodded. “Yeah, I probably should’ve.” Sollux sighed. “In hindsight, I overreacted. A lot. I’m a lowblood Dave. We’re already put down by almost everyone else back home. I didn’t need my friends doing it too.” As he spoke, Sollux tugged off his tinted glasses and looked Dave right in the face. “Y’know, you look almost exactly like me now.”

With a quick flicker of psionic power, Sollux knocked back Dave’s hood. Instinctively, he raised a hand to his head, feeling that his horns had gotten a bit longer. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s like one of those wonky carnival mirrors where Gamzee works.” Sollux leaned closer to examine Dave’s face. “Same colour eyes, your horns are almost as long as mine now. You probably look just like I would, if I was that huge.”

Dave probably should have been frustrated by that, but something about how weird the whole thing was put a cap on his temper. “If this wasn’t being done on me I’d say you worked out a real cool formula, babe.”

“I’d better have after how long it took to figure out.” Karkat was still acting a little off, but this whole situation was strange enough that Dave didn’t blame him.

“Mm. So hey, was that other tube you had the antidote?”

“Obviously.” Sollux took the medical case from Karkat’s lap, opening it to show the empty test tube Dave had been injected from and the still-full red one. “Karkat do you have-“

“Yeah, here.” Karkat pulled out a clean syringe from his Sylladex and handed it over.

“Thanks. Anyway, just gotta stick this stuff in you and-”

“Wait.” Karkat interjected. “Uh, Dave? Can I talk to you alone for a moment? There’s… something I really need to get out.”

“Sure, I guess. But I… don’t think I can get up right now… John, Sollux, can you two leave for a bit?”

“Sure Dave.” John lightly tugged at Sollux’s arm. “C’mon Sol, show me that new game you were making!”

Sollux gave Karkat a look that had the troll flushing, then went with John’s tugging, shutting the door once they left the room.

“Okay, so spill. You’ve already apologised, what’s got you looking like I pulled your pigtails?”

“Be serious for like five seconds, okay?” Karkat took a deep breath. “You being like this isn’t... the worst thing in the world, for me.”

“...what.”

“Look, when I was a wiggler, I had a huge crush on Sollux, right?” Karkat explained, fidgeting with his hands. “It was a puppy love thing, and it sorta faded away after awhile. Then I met you and we started dating… do you see where I’m going?”

“I sure hope I don't.” Dave stared at Karkat. “I really hope you’re not telling me you’re into me looking like your old crush and also being fat as fuck. I must be misunderstanding, right?”

“You’re really not.” Karkat wrung his hands some more. “I’m so fucking sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything! You probably hate me for thinking that!”

“Hey, hey hey hey, look at me.” Dave took Karkat’s hands in his own. “Karkat, look at me.” After a second, Karkat complied. “Yeah, sure, it’s weird as fuck, and maybe not the best time to confess-” At this Karkat blushed heavily- “but I can take it, okay? I can deal. You’re saying you... _don’t_ want me to take that needle?”

“It’s your body, obviously you can do what you want-” Karkat was stopped by Dave squeezing his hands, refocusing him on the question at hand. “...yes, I’m saying that. I think you look really hot like this.”

“How about this. I go home and take the needle with me and think about it, and come back tomorrow with a decision, okay?” Dave offered. “If it’s still full, I’ll stay like this. If not…”

“Makes sense, yeah.” Karkat nodded, then grabbed Dave’s face. “But don’t you fucking DARE make a decision if you aren’t a hundred percent on board with it, alright. That stuff took fucking for-EVER to make, and I don’t wanna risk what a second dose of either of these will do to you, am I fucking clear, Strider?”

“Now there’s the Karkat I fell in love with!” Dave grinned - the first time he’d done so all day. “You got yourself a deal!”

“You’d better think this through properly.” Karkat tried to glare at Dave, though he couldn’t help the smile spreading across his lips. “And remember, no psionics. If your brain adjusts to use them properly I don’t think the antidote will work.”

“Got it.” Dave nodded before pulling Karkat into a hug. “Now c’mere.”

Karkat pretended to resist for a moment before relaxing into it. “Mmm, so warm… Might be the only chance I get for this if you… y’know.”

“We’ll know for sure tomorrow,” Dave replied as Sollux and John returned.

“Everything good here?” John asked cautiously.

“Yeah, yeah we’re cool. Think you can help me home?”

“Yeah man, sure.” John said his goodbyes as Dave pulled his hood up.

“You’re sure there’s nothing to do before you go?” Sollux asked, smirking dangerously. “You don’t need help checking that all those changes are... accurate?”

“What do you- _oh._ ” Dave noticed Sollux wiggling his eyebrows, followed by a… _sensation_ in his pants. If Dave didn’t know better, he’d swear that particular change was waiting for its cue. “Uh, Karkat? How in-depth was this supposed to-”

“All the way. Including down there.” Karkat replied. “And yes, Sollux has two.”

Dave flushed. “Okay, leaving now!”

John helped Dave out the door again, followed by Sollux’s satisfied laughter. That was certainly a mystery he’d never wanted to know the answer to. Still, it reminded him, not _every_ part of this was bad.

On top of certain... assets, he now had, there were other upsides to being Sollux. He was more tech-savvy now than he’d ever hoped to be before, and Sollux’s freaky eyes were a lot less sensitive to the light than his old ones had been. As they walked, Dave glanced at his body. Sure, he was huge, probably the fattest person he knew by now, but he had to admit, the extra weight didn’t… exactly feel all that bad. Sure, it was heavy as hell, but it felt kinda comfortable, like a thick heavy quilt wrapped around him.

He certainly had time to think about it on the walk home, with the slow pace his body required. It was inconvenient, he’d need a new wardrobe and probably some alterations to his house if he was keeping it, but those things were manageable. The heaviness was something he might get used to if he let himself keep it for long enough, and, well. Karkat had made it pretty clear he thought Dave was all the more appealing for his new size. “John, what do you think?”

“Think about what?”

“You know what, Egderp. Playing dumb is Makara’s job.”

“You want my opinion?”

“Yeah man, we’ve been friends since elementary, I trust you!”

“Well...” John clearly considered his words, which was promising at least. “I’m not gonna say you’re hotter or anything because that’d be weird and we’re just friends, you know? But I mean, I don’t mind it or anything. I think you look fine.”

“Really? Even... I mean, I’m huge, John.”

“Yeah, what about it? That’s the part you have to decide whether you like. All I can say is I’m not going to stop being your friend if you stay like this.”

Dave nodded. “Thanks man, I mean it.”

“You want me to stay over tonight?” John asked. “We could play some games while you decide.”

“I don’t see why not, unless you got other plans,” Dave replied.

“That’s fine by me!” John grinned as Dave’s house drew closer still.

He wasn’t going to say it, but Dave was glad to have a distraction while he mulled over the options he’d been given. Thrashing John in some different games was a great way to keep himself from spiralling, and gave him the clarity to make a pretty important realisation.

Dave had always considered himself vain. He liked how he looked, liked the way he was. And yet, now that basically everything that made him ‘himself’ - from his face to his build to his voice - had been stripped away, he felt... fine. He missed those things because they were familiar, not because they felt important enough to need back.

Dave paused the game to look at his hands, filled with chub and sausage fingers. Despite looking like and technically BEING Sollux’s, they were still HIS hands. This was Dave’s body, no matter what it looked like. He stood up and ambled over to a specific picture on the wall, removed it, and sat back down heavily. John looked over in confusion. “Something wrong, dude?”

“Dunno, just… reminiscing.” Dave angled the frame so John could see. The photo was of the two first meeting Karkat over a year ago. “I realized something just now. Just cuz I’ve changed, doesn’t mean these have.” He tapped the photo. “I might be big, fat, grey, and horned, but…”

“But you’re still you,” John agreed. “You don’t look the same, but you’re still the same person who did that stuff.”

“Yeah, exactly.” He nodded, smiling a little. “It’s just like changing my wardrobe, or growing a beard or something. Doesn’t change who I am in the end.” Dave looked over at the case. “I… I think my mind’s made up.”

The next day at Sollux’s hive, Dave returned the case to Karkat. Opening it revealed the red vial still full. “Are you absolutely positive about this?” Karkat asked, getting a nod in response.

“If you want this, I’m not gonna say no.” Looking at Karkat long enough to receive a nod in return, Dave clenched his jaw. The ozone scent returned, filling the room as the vial slowly lifted from the case, shook in the air... and shattered, spilling the fluid to the floor.

“You know you could’ve just said no, right?” Karkat stared at the small stain on the floor.

“Yeah, but that was pretty cool, right?” Dave just grinned. There was a soft rumble deep in Dave’s stomach as his transformation settled. “Guess I’m done, huh?”

“Looks like it!” Karkat leaned close enough to kiss Dave’s cheek before going to start sweeping up the mess. “You’re officially Sollux’s fat twin.”

“Feels good, to be honest,” Dave admitted as Karkat threw the glass and remaining fluid away. “Really feels like… I dunno how to explain it!”

“You’ll have time to figure it out. It’s not like it’ll be changing any time soon.”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right, huh.” Dave shrugged and sat down on the couch, plopping his hands on top of his gut. “Still need some clothes though.

“Ask and ye shall receive!” Sollux crowed, holding several bags in his psionic grip. “Kanaya just made these for you!”

“Awethome!” Dave grinned and made grabby hands.

Karkat rolled his eyes, watching as Sollux dropped the bags in Dave’s reach. Tipping out the contents of the first bag revealed some strikingly familiar looks - black shirts with the yellow Gemini symbol fitted for Dave’s bulkier frame, sweats and lounge pants of the sort Sollux wore around his hive on lazy days... digging deeper, it all seemed to be based on Sollux’s own wardrobe. The only difference being that they were all clearly far too large for Sollux himself, but a perfect fit for Dave!

“Holy thit Sollux…” Dave held up a shirt to his chest, then grabbed a pair of stretchy jeans before retreating to the bathroom. “Karkles, little help here?”

After a moment, Karkat exited the bathroom first. “Now presenting, Sollux Strider!” he stated dramatically. Lumbering out of the bathroom strode Dave, now fully clad in an outfit identical to what Sollux had on. Sollux clapped mockingly, but he still gave Dave a thumbs-up.

“You’re a natural. All you’re missing is the Dorito dust."

Dave rolled his eyes, but his stomach chose that moment to growl again. “Well... I guess we can fix that too.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this fic or have something to say, comments are literally more valuable than gold.


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